The race to fill the seat of retiring Hernando County Supervisor of Elections Annie Williams comes down to Republican Shirley Anderson, who won her primary election, and Democrat Elizabeth Townsend. Though the supervisor's race doesn't usually attract a lot of attention, this year's contest has had its heated moments, first when Anderson was admonished for entering a polling place without authorization during the August primary. Anderson's camp then accused Townsend, who works as operations director for the supervisor of elections, of parking her campaign-adorned vehicle too close to the entrance of a polling location. Logan Neill, Times staff writer

Shirley Anderson, 54

Congressional district director

Elizabeth Townsend, 39

Elections operations director

Republican

Party

Democrat

A fifth-generation Floridian, Anderson was born and raised in DeFuniak Springs. She began her career in politics serving as a legislative assistant for Ginny Brown-Waite when Brown-Waite was in the Florida Senate. Currently, she is district director for U.S. Rep. Richard Nugent. She is a former board member of the Hillsborough River Basin Board and the Nature Coast Republican Women's Network.

Experience

A native of Hernando County, Townsend worked as a child care director and summer camp director for the YMCA, then as a caseworker for the Florida Department of Children and Families for two years before joining the elections office in 2004 as community relations coordinator. She was promoted to the position of operations director 2 1/2 years ago.

Bachelor's degree, University of South Florida

Education

Associate's degree, Pasco-Hernando Community College; bachelor's degree, University of South Florida

Anderson cites her lifelong passion for the electoral process as the basis for wanting to encourage citizens to exercise their voting privilege. She believes that an efficiently run office will enhance its citizen outreach capabilities.

What attracts you to the job?

Townsend says she is drawn to the challenge of protecting the integrity of the voting process and wants to bring meaningful ideas that will enhance community participation in the voting process.

Anderson says she would review every program and policy to see where she could maximize efficiency. She would also explore ideas such as sharing employees with other county agencies.

Considering the call for all county government agencies to trim expenses, what areas would you focus on?

Townsend touts her job experience and technical knowledge as assets that enabled her to successfully implement a redistricting plan this year that saved taxpayers more than $33,000. Once in office, she vows to focus on restructuring staff responsibilities.

Creating more outreach programs in the community would be a priority, Anderson says. Other ideas include revamping the agency's website and enhancing voter education efforts with the creation of an electronic newsletter to keep people informed

What would you do to encourage greater voter participation in the community?

Townsend says she wants to increase the office's visibility through community events and public outreach. Other ideas include enhancement of the elections office website and creating a program for high school seniors to better engage them in the voting process.

About the job: The supervisor of elections registers voters, administers elections, maintains voter rolls, qualifies candidates for elections and is responsible for hiring and training poll workers. The supervisor of elections serves a four-year term and is paid $102,555 a year.

The race to fill the seat of retiring Hernando County Supervisor of Elections Annie Williams comes down to Republican Shirley Anderson, who won her primary election, and Democrat Elizabeth Townsend. Though the supervisor's race doesn't usually attract a lot of attention, this year's contest has had its heated moments, first when Anderson was admonished for entering a polling place without authorization during the August primary. Anderson's camp then accused Townsend, who works as operations director for the supervisor of elections, of parking her campaign-adorned vehicle too close to the entrance of a polling location.

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